Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Newly Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management acquired 60,293 Atmos Energy shares worth approximately $10.4 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 90.17% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: three analysts rate Atmos Energy a Buy and ten rate it Hold, producing an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.09.
• Atmos Energy reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, beating estimates of $1.35, and reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $8.40–$8.50. The company pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.6% yield.

QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 60,293 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,387,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,624,975,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,993,968,000 after acquiring an additional 927,986 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,214,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $703,824,000 after purchasing an additional 78,438 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $775,719,000 after purchasing an additional 416,933 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,887,367 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $484,009,000 after buying an additional 47,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price target (down from $198.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William Ware purchased 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.1%

ATO opened at $156.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm's fifty day moving average is $169.00 and its 200 day moving average is $175.81. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $155.00 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.The firm had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $900.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 47.56%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation NYSE: ATO is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through its utility operations, the company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers, with services focused on safe and reliable energy delivery.

Atmos Energy serves customers across eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Its operations include local natural gas distribution as well as pipeline transportation and storage activities, primarily through its Atmos Pipeline-Texas business.

The company traces its roots to 1906 and has expanded over time through growth and acquisitions in the natural gas industry.

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